Minnesota’s first catch-and-release record for northern pike stood for less than a month.

A 45.25-inch fish hooked by Woodbury teenager Matthew Swanson on the Rainy River has taken the title from a 43.5-inch pike landed in October by angler Maddy Ogg on Lake Mille Lacs, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Monday.

Swanson caught his record northern in May, but he didn’t submit it to the DNR until shortly after Ogg’s fish was announced as the new category’s first record holder.

There are two kinds of Minnesota state fish records: one for catching and keeping the biggest fish in each species based on certified weight; and the other newer category for the length of a caught-and-released muskellunge, northern pike, lake sturgeon or flathead catfish.

Swanson was on an annual trip to the Rainy River in northern Minnesota with his father and brother when he landed the massive fish using a streamer fly on 30-pound test wire line. After snapping a couple of photos, Swanson released the fish.

“Because this was to date my first and only pike on a fly, it was a very memorable experience,” he said in the DNR’s news release.

The state record for the largest kept northern pike is a 45-pound, 12-ounce fish caught on Basswood Lake in 1929, according to the DNR. The length was not recorded.

Nick Woltman reports on breaking news and blogs about local history. Before joining the staff of the Pioneer Press in 2013, he worked for the Bismarck Tribune in North Dakota. He lives with his wife and two cats in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul.

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